SOUND AROUND TOWN: Porch Party Mamas rockin' roots at Amazing Things

By Ed Symkus, Correspondent

Friday

May 3, 2019 at 1:17 PMMay 3, 2019 at 1:17 PM

There’s going to be a lot of singing and a lot of playing, on many different instruments and in many musical genres when the rootsy Porch Party Mamas return to Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham on May 4.

The truly democratic quintet – that’s not a political term; it’s about equality within the band – consists of five women from the area who all contribute to writing songs, arranging them, and playing them. And they all sing.

“We first played together about 15 years ago,” said Brady-Lopez, who was born in New Mexico, grew up in Oklahoma, spent her high school and college years in Texas, came to Boston to do graduate work in classical piano at Boston University, and now lives in Cambridge. “But we weren’t a band yet. Kelly asked us to join her for some show, and then she got the idea of forming this band.”

They began as a quartet, invited Grondin to play fiddle with them a while later, and have been in this configuration for more than 10 years.

Felicia-Brady, who is also music director at First United Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, and teaches music at the Winsor School in Boston, has long been interested in going the multi-instrument route.

“I was studying piano when I was young,” she said. “But when I went to high school, they didn’t need a piano player, so I cut a deal with the orchestra director there. He said that if I could teach myself to play upright bass, I could be in the orchestra.

“It was pretty easy to learn,” she added. “He gave me a beginner’s book and put me in his office for about a month, and I taught myself.”

But these days she spends most of her Porch Party Mamas time with an accordion strapped on.

“That happened when I was studying classical music here in Boston,” she said. “I also wanted to be writing and singing songs. So, I got into a band and I was singing and playing a little bit of guitar, and there was a guy in the band who played accordion. I never had any interest in the instrument. But at one rehearsal the accordionist needed to sit in on drums, and he handed me the accordion and said, ‘Here, you play this.’ It was a tiny, half-size accordion, and the second I started playing it, I fell in love with it. I knew I had to get one.”

When Porch Party Mamas first got together, the ideas for musical direction weren’t totally focused, which was a good thing, because even now they can be low key and folky, or they can do a cover of a pop tune, or they can rock out.

“Each of us was a songwriter, and we wanted to arrange and sing each other’s songs,” said Brady-Lopez. “It went from being backup for each other’s songs to thinking of ourselves. not as individual songwriters, but as a band writing songs for a band. We didn’t care what the genre was as long as it highlighted the strengths of each of us. When Jane joined, our vibe remained the same, but she enhanced the sound. She brought in some beautiful songs and her ability to collaborate, as well as having the fiddle playing together with the accordion, really helped us take off.”

The band is in the midst of a couple of changes – Grondin recently moved to LA, but still manages to come back east when shows are scheduled; Riley is on hiatus to finish her degree at Berklee, so Liz Cooke is singing and playing bass and guitar. But the Amazing Things show should fit right in with what fans will be expecting.

“We’ve played there several times, and whenever we return, we look at what we played the previous time, and we try not to repeat everything,” said Brady-Lopez. “We also have some new songs we’ve been working on, and we want to put them in the right places, and present them.”

As always, there will be some trading off on instruments.

“I play accordion and bass and I might be playing guitar on one song at this show,” said Brady-Lopez. “Ksenia sometimes switches from guitar to banjo. And Jane sometimes switches from fiddle to guitar. It kind of depends on who wrote the song and what the lead singer wants to play while she’s singing, then the rest of us switch around.”

Porch Party Mamas have a show at Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham on May 4 at 8 p.m. The Wicked Pickers open. Tickets: $20; seniors, $19. Info: 508-405-2787.

Upcoming concerts and club dates

May 4:

Erik Lindgren & the Bespoke Consort will feature music from Erik Satie, Raymond Scott, Alberto Ginastera, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, and more at the Lilypad in Cambridge. (5 p.m.)

Bees Deluxe could play anything from re-interpretations of tunes by Miles Davis, Amy Winehouse, and Steely Dan to original blues-rock numbers at City Winery in Boston. (7:30 p.m.)

May 5:

Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals will dip into their catalogue of ’60s hits at Cary Hall in Lexington. (3 p.m.)

May 7:

Banjoist Allison de Groot & fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves celebrate the release of their self-titled CD release at Club Passim in Cambridge. (8 p.m.)